Lisa started the night "Who Says" a traveling song which named a number of coast to coast cities. A slow bass blues run introduced her into the mid-show set, starting with the sultry love poem to New York, "Living for the City." She then brought in the brutally honest "I Think I'm Just Fine," a piece by Tim Di Pasqua about a reluctant woman asked to return to the musical stage after years and years (from the musical Synchronicity), which highlighted Lisa's impeccable rock belt and storytelling. She finished her set with the sweet ballad "You're My Home." At the end of the evening, Lisa completed her journey from one musical coast to the next by bringing her friend Reagan Stone back to the stage to do the friends-forever-duet "For Good" from Wicked, with their voiced blending superbly and not just a few lumps left in the throat.
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| Lisa Viggiano |
Side Notes:
Quick Wrap: Classical Corner:
Mark began the Classical Corner by playing a bit of the first recording ever made (1899) of a famous classical composer - Johannes Brahms - speaking and then performing a Hungarian dance piece of his. He was born on May 7, 1833, so for the next four weeks, Mark would be celebrating one particular Brahms piece, including an upcoming collaboration performance with a violinist!
As Mark explained, the 19th century was a push between Classical (Beethoven) towards Romanticism, which celebrated color, flavor and text/emotion rather than structure. Brahms rides that fence - Classic structure, but moves forward into the Romantic era. Brahms did not like Wagner's campy quality, and there were some public fights and even requests to create coalitions against each others' style. Brahms was born to a musician father (who was his first teacher), with seamstress mother who was 15 years his father's senior. Some say Brahms' adult relationships with women was "tainted" from playing in a public house/brothel to make money at an early age. Following his father's cue, he fell in love with Clara Schumann, who was 17 years his elder. Brahms was apparently a perfectionist - he destroyed a third of his outputted word, and we thank those colleagues who kept copies of his unpublished work. Known to play practical jokes, a "crusty old fellow," Johannes Brahms was known to saw the back of the rockers so if ladies sat in them, petticoats would fly when they sat down. He also did not like "airs" - at one dinner, he was poured a very old, expensive wine that was proclaimed the "Brahms of my wine celler." Brahms replied "Mmmmmm...Better bring the Beethoven."
Mark went into Brahms' distinct composing style and lauded his grasp of form, cross rhythms (left hand doing different rhythm on same notes as the right hand), and his incredible facility to write counterpoint. He played a few bars just in the piano, and the intricacies that were present didn't even include the violin part. Brahms is a master of Sonatas, and wrote three with violin and piano. A Sonata is a musical play with melodious themes as characters. Brahms had a lot of gypsy in his soul and a love of moving thirds and sixths with gypsy cadences. Mark exemplified this by playing a bit of "Sonata 3 in D minor." The "play" of this piece sounded exciting and thrilling - two themes, the A character and B character, almost represent a couple, with more characters/themes chiming in throughout. In the middle, a development section thick with counterpoint reveals all the characters wound together. Then, a truncated version of the A and B theme ends the piece. But the interesting thing is that one character (A) is in Tonic key the other one (B) is Dominant key. At the end, the second theme is resolved to the tonic (reflecting the idea that the character - like a young lady giving into the amorous actions of a man - becomes accepting of the first tonic key). Brahms also played with rhythm and harmony; he creates a harmonic suggestion at first, not utilizing full chords, and then divides the same thing only with 1/8th notes apart. Also, a middle section had a "dominant prolongation," which included double-themes and a pulsing pedal-run bass line until it breaks out into the beginning themes again (side note: my head about exploded at this point). One interesting historical note: during this time, pianos were being built better, richer, and with more dedicated bass tones than the harpsichords of Mozart's time. So, like a scientist with a new piece of technology, Brahms was experimenting with the sounds of the new longer-toned bass notes in his compositions.
Mark played through a bit of the First movement of Brahms' "Third Sonata in D minor" and gave us a taste of the dramatic Fourth movement! Apparently, the texture with the violin part floating above it is lovely (we'll hopefully hear in the next few weeks!).
Roster of performers for the evening (in order of appearance):
Click to visit performers' website or other links when available.All piano accompaniment by Mark Janas unless otherwise noted.
Lisa Viggiano
Jerome Weinstein
Elena Vidanova
Kount Kit
Cathy Finlay
Marnie Klar
Rian Keating
Stew Fimer
Sally Darling(with Matthew Martin Ward on piano)
Matthew Martin Ward & Sally Darling (with Matthew Martin Ward on piano)
Ruth Carlin
Danielle Erin Rhodes
David Ballard
Sierra Rein
Kathleen France
Lisa Viggiano
Tanya Moberly
Sallie Jo Hadley
Carol Sue Gershman
Reagan Stone
Adam Shapiro
Richard Eisenberg
Deborah Zecher
Wendy Kaufman Harper
Rob Davis
Lisa Viggiano and Reagan Stone
Big thanks to Jared Gilmore on lights and sound, and more for our amazing waitstaff who have talent and skill and smiles galore for us each Sunday!
Special thanks to tonight’s musicians: Mark Janas and Matthew Martin Ward!
Upcoming Shows:
Monday, May 2, 2016 (7pm): Adam Shapiro judges at "The Met Room's Next Top Drag Queen" contest at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NYC.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016 (7pm): Marnie Klar is bringing back her show, "Tuned In" (directed by Tanya Moberly), to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, May 6, 2016 (7pm): Matthew Martin Ward and Wendy Scherl in "What You Do All Day?" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Monday, May 9, 2016 (7pm): "A Life Behind Bars" written and performed by Dan Ruth, Directed by Tanya Moberly, at The Gutter Williamsburg Brooklyn, 200 North 14th Street, Brooklyn, NYC.
Wednesday, May 11th, 2016 (7pm): Sally Darling in "Totally Noel...with A Bit of Sally," an all-Noel Coward show at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, May 13th, 2016 (8pm): Matthew Martin Ward in the "Salon Performance" of the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation (including works by Schubert, Chopin, Brahms), 141 West 26th Street, 3rd Floor, NYC.
Saturday, May 14th, 2016 (8pm): Matthew Martin Ward in the "Salon Performance" of the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation (including works by Schubert, Chopin, Brahms), 141 West 26th Street, 3rd Floor, NYC.
Sunday, May 22, 2016 (7pm): Sallie Jo Hadley stars in (and Adam Shapiro directs) "Bustin' Loose, The Liberation of Sallie Jo Hadley" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, May 22, 2016: Danielle Erin Rhodes and others in a concert at St. Clements Episcopal Church and Theater, 423 W 46th St, NYC.
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 (7pm): Adam Shapiro sings in "Richard Skipper Celebrates" at The Triad, 158 W 72nd St, NYC.
Sunday, May 29, 2016 (7pm): Sierra Rein (as part of Marquee Five) will be featured in "Sondheim Unplugged" at Feinstein's/54 Below, 254 West 54th Street, NYC.
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 (7pm): Rob Davis in "This Is Your Song" with guest artists Stephen Hanks & Lisa Viggiano, The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NYC.
Sunday, June 5, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly new 4-show series, starting with "Moberly Sings Nilsson with Weber" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly new 4-show series, starting with "Moberly Sings Nilsson with Weber" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016 (6:30pm): Rian Keating in "This is All I Give: Songs of Love and Life" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, June 10, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly new 4-show series, starting with "Moberly Sings Nilsson with Weber" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, June 12, 2016 (3pm): Rian Keating in "This is All I Give: Songs of Love and Life" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly new 4-show series, starting with "Moberly Sings Nilsson with Weber" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, June 17, 2016 (8pm): David Ballard in the NYC GMC Concert, NYU Skirball Center, NYC.
Saturday, June 18, 2016 (4pm): Adam Shapiro sings and hosts "Gone Too Soon - Howard Ashman" at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NYC.
Monday, July 4, 2016: Adam Shapiro opens in the all-Yiddish "The Golden Bride" from The National Yiddish Theatre, at The Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, NYC.
Thursday, July 14, 2016 (7pm): Ruth Carlin in "A Light in the Window - Songs of Judy Collins" at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NYC.
Saturday, July 16, 2016: Wendy Kaufman Harper and others in "Lennie Watt's Arrangement Boot Camp Concert."
NEXT SALON, Sunday May 8st, 2016:
The Theme will be the Mother's Day-esque "The Family You Choose" with Double Co-Hosts Anna Marie Sell & Zach Wobensmith! Come bring your music about those family members you choose or those you may not get to choose for yourself, pets, or children. Come sing about Moms, Mother Nature, Dads, cousins, or anyone else reflective of Family!
See you then!
Sierra Rein
Blogette for the Salon
(Updates? Changes? Email me!)
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